Bonfire night delivered a second spectacle for the eyes as the northern lights were visible across the region.

The northern lights illuminated the skies on Sunday night with the sightings nationwide.

A second aurora-like phenomenon named STEVE (a strong thermal emission velocity enhancement) also appeared in the skies on Sunday night.

The Northern Echo: The Northern Lights captured over Steetley Pier, HartlepoolThe Northern Lights captured over Steetley Pier, Hartlepool (Image: ANDREW STURDY)

It is not easy to predict when the stunning display will be visible over the North East, with the last time it was spotted back in September.

The Northern Echo: The northern lights and STEVE captured over Bamburgh.The northern lights and STEVE captured over Bamburgh. (Image: PA)

Photographers from the Northern Echo’s Camera Club captured some sublime snaps of the aurora borealis on Sunday.

The Northern Echo: The Northern Lights over Teesdale.The Northern Lights over Teesdale. (Image: MIKE KILO BRAVO/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

The Northern Echo: The stars shine over Teesdale.The stars shine over Teesdale. (Image: MKE BILO BRAVO/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

The Northern Echo: STEVE captured over the North Yorks Moors.STEVE captured over the North Yorks Moors. (Image: HANNAH CHAPMAN)

Professor Don Pollacco, department of physics at the University of Warwick, said the phenomenon was caused by “the interaction of particles coming from the sun, the solar wind, with the Earth’s atmosphere – channelled to the polar regions by the Earth’s magnetic field.

“It’s actually a bit like iron filings and the field of a bar magnetic.

The Northern Echo: The skies turned green over Hartlepool.The skies turned green over Hartlepool. (Image: TERRY PIPER/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

The Northern Echo: The skies over Derwent Reservoir turned beautiful pinks and greens.The skies over Derwent Reservoir turned beautiful pinks and greens. (Image: MARK TENNANT/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

Recommended reading:

Get more from The Northern Echo with a digital subscription. With our latest deal you can pay £3 for three months, or get 40% off a 12-month subscription. Click here.

“The solar wind contains more particles when there are sun spots, as these are regions on the sun’s surface where the magnetic field is interacting with the plasma in the sun, and the particles can be released.

The Northern Echo: The Northern Lights off the Hartlepool coast.The Northern Lights off the Hartlepool coast. (Image: ANDREW STURDY/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)

“Once the particles are channelled into the Earth’s atmosphere they interact with molecules and have distinctive colours (eg oxygen molecules produce green light, nitrogen red light etc) and patterns such as light emissions that look like curtains or spotlights.

“These shapes change quickly over timescales of minutes/seconds.”

The Northern Echo: The stunning display over Souter lighthosue, Sunderland.The stunning display over Souter lighthosue, Sunderland. (Image: PAUL OAKLAND/NORTHERN ECHO CAMERA CLUB)